Xbox One's May Update Will Bring These Features

There are quite a few new features being added to the Xbox One and the Xbox app for Windows 10 for the May update. This update includes some new avatar features for Windows users, new game DVR recording features and new profile updates.

A lot of the May features for the Xbox One are compiled together in a quick video by Major Nelson that you can check out below.

The game bar for the Xbox app on Windows 10 PCs allows players to take snapshots, record game clips similar to the Xbox One's 30 second grab, or start and stop manual game recording with the record button.

The new avatar features for Windows 10 users has also been updated to include all the carry-over clothing items and customization features from the Xbox 360.

User profiles have also been upgraded to include stats such as your gaming reputation, the game's you have on showcase for the whole world to see, as well as an animated rendition of your avatar... if you want to see that sort of thing.

The Smartglass features have also seen a small facelift that allows users to start and stop media playback, as well as stream content such as television shows and movies from Smartglass to the Xbox One. The team has also added the feature to turn on and turn off the Xbox One using the Smartglass app.

Windows 10 users also get a very special feature when it comes to the Xbox controller: drivers automatically download and update. As noted on Major Nelson's blog...

“The drivers for Xbox controllers are now included with Windows 10, so you no longer have to download and install controller drivers on Windows 10.

“The Xbox app will automatically update to the April preview version when it becomes available in the Windows Store. Once you receive the update, your version number should be 4.4.9014.0 or higher. You can verify the version number of the Xbox app in Settings.”

Previously, gamers had to jump through a few hoops to get the Xbox One controllers to work proper for Windows 10. At this point it's now just a matter of plugging it in and playing with it. Huge step up.

Xbox One owners will also be able to preview sending voice messages to their friends and rivals using the new Xbox One messaging app. Again, this is only going to be a preview feature for May, so it's likely going to appear in its final form when June rolls around and E3 gets underway.

And Microsoft couldn't forgo upgrading the TV-on-your-TV functions. This time it's literally TV on your TV, because you can stream picture-in-picture content if you have an Xbox One Digital TV Tuner or the Hauppauge 955Q TV Tuner. This enables users to stream content from the Xbox One to the Windows 10 PC, with additional picture-in-picture support. There's an even more detailed rundown of each of these features over on the Xbox news wire.